9am briefing - Teenagers rob casino goer of his winnings

Published on Thursday 18 September 2008 10:12

A CASINO goer was assaulted and robbed of his winnings by a group of teenagers.

The 19-year-old was punched in the face and threatened with a screwdriver before the youths made off with his 100 winnings.

The incident happened near a set of steps leading to the Main Street, in Davidson's Mains, at about 10.45pm last night.

Four teenagers - three boys and a girl - began following the victim as he was walking home with a friend on Silverknowes Road, on leaving Circus Casino at Fountain Park, Dundee Street.

The man was not seriously injured, but was left extremely shaken. The attackers are between 15 and 17 years old.

"Short-selling" ban comes into force

A BAN on speculators profiting from falling share prices in the current market turmoil came into force today.

Traders will not be able to "short" positions in listed financial companies – a practice known as "short selling" – for at least the next four months, the City watchdog said.

"Short-selling" is when investors borrow stocks in a company to sell it, hoping to buy it back at a cheaper price later on and return it, pocketing the difference as profit.

Some have seen the tactic as a factor in Halifax Bank of Scotland being forced to seek a takeover by Lloyds TSB.

First Minister Alex Salmond, who this week hit out at the "spivs and speculators" for driving down the share price of HBoS, said he welcomed the decision.

Laser beams obscured pilot's vision when landing

TWO pilots were temporarily blinded by laser beams being shone in their faces as they came into land at Edinburgh Airport, it was reported today.

Captains of two flights - working for British Airways and easyJet - were hit by the beam minutes of each other as they tried to land earlier this month.

Police are now appealing for information regarding the incident and have so far concentrated inquiries on Livingston, believing the source of the beam was in West Lothian.

Scottish Enterprise managers slammed over bonuses

SCOTTISH Enterprise managers have been criticised for giving out 50,000 in bonuses despite job cuts, it was reported today.

All 1000 quango staff were reportedly given 500, despite cost-cutting and the loss of 260 jobs.

Scottish Enterprise's budget has been reduced from 329 million to 283 million and managers have not been able to rule out further job cuts.

Number plate goes under the hammer

ONE of the earliest number plates ever issued could fetch 250,000 when it goes under the hammer at auction today.

The sought-after 1903 registration mark "S1" has been estimated to fetch between 200,000 and 250,000.

The historic plate was the first registration number to be issued in Edinburgh and it belonged to Sir John HA MacDonald, who was the Lord Justice Clerk of Scotland from 1888 to 1919.